Together
by memelovescaps
Summary: Nine/Rose set in The Parting of the Ways. The war against the Daleks is about to continue, and the Doctor makes a decision regarding Rose's safety, but will she agree? Won't she give everything she has to go back and save her Doctor? A fic on how I'd wished the 1st season to finish. No regeneration from 9th to 10th.
1. Chapter 1

_Hello people!_

_Two weeks ago I started to watch Doctor Who, and from the first moment I fell in love with Nine and the bond he has with Rose. This fic is set in the episode 1x13 of the 2005 revival "The Parting of the Ways"._

_Title: Together._

_Author: Myself, Meme._

_Disclaimer: Doctor Who doesn't belong to me, and neither does Billie Paper nor Christopher Eccleston (I wish…). All characters belong to their respective creators._

_Notes of the Author: This is my own version of the facts, because I didn't want Nine to regenerate and I'm still trying to move on from that :( you'll notice that the way in which Rose comes back is not exactly how in the TV series is, I wanted something less destructive than the vortex because I needed the Doctor to survive. Actually in this fic I wanted to explore Nine's vulnerability and fears, and Rose's determination to do anything for her Doctor, I did the best I could, I hope you like it. If you did please leave me a comment about it and if you didn't please tell me what you think you'd change if you'd written it._

_Also many thanks to Esther, who gave me a second opinion, and to KatheeHDS, who also corrected the fic. _

_Without further delay, ENJOY!_

* * *

**TOGETHER**

**CHAPTER 1**

When they got in the TARDIS the Doctor closed the door, he was about to take of his jacket and leave it on his chair when Rose took the few steps that were separating them and hugged him around his waist, burying her face in his robes.

"Hey, you ok? Where does this come from?" he asked, but didn't stop her in her way to rest her head on his chest "are you ok, Rose?"

"Yeah, I'm… fine" said Rose, sighing slightly against his robes "just… I want to stay here… with you."

He said nothing, he didn't even know what to think of that, but he just closed his eyes, feeling this strange but wonderful sensation inside him as he embraced Rose. It was odd, because they were used to casual hugs and holding hands, Rose had noticed that the Doctor was a bit of a casual touchy, and the Doctor could say now that their friendship was truly one of the best things in his whole 900 years of life. But this hug was different. It was as though Rose was searching some kind of comfort, as if she was afraid he would leave her soon.

He sighed against the top of her head, hugging her a bit tighter, and feeling her warmth. She felt safe, at home, listening to the beating of one of his two hearts; it was relaxing, as though that moment was timeless. Nothing else existed; in that exact second everything else was a blur and could wait for a couple of minutes more. No intergalactic wars, no travels around the space… just the Doctor, and his companion.

* * *

"We're leaving" the usually calm and gentle voice of the Doctor was authoritarian, and Rose sprang from her seat where she was working and followed the Doctor into the TARDIS.

"Where are we going?" asked Rose once inside, but the Doctor didn't answer. He started pushing the controls of the TARDIS, and soon they were travelling. When it stopped, the Doctor stood still.

"Where are we?" asked Rose.

"See it yourself" said the Doctor, and Rose opened the door with impatience. However, her face changed when she saw the old buildings surrounding the square the TARDIS usually parked when they got to her own time. She got out of the TARDIS, looking around, but everything was the same. It was London on 2005.

"It's London" said her with a weak and confused voice. He nodded, walking the few steps that Rose had taken before and standing next to her. He looked down to her face; she was looking at an indefinite point of the wall in front of them.

"It is not safe for you anymore Rose. There's a war, you know what the Daleks are capable of. My entire planet was destroyed because of a war against them" he said, remembering with pain Gallifrey, his home. It still hurt. He sighed before continuing "I'm not risking your life. That's why I brought you home."

"This is not my home anymore" she said, looking at the building she had lived for 19 years, before she'd met the Doctor and went wandering the space and time with him. "The TARDIS is."

"Rose…"

"No!" she cut him. Rose turned around, walking angrily towards the end of the road, where she stood still. He approached her slowly, then stopping right behind her, looking at her with sadness in his eyes. He couldn't do this. It was killing him. But he had to.

"Rose… I can't guarantee your safety anymore, I…"

"I don't care! Don't you understand? I DON'T CARE!" Rose answered back "I don't care if I die blown up by a damn Dalek, or if I end up being eaten by a Slitheen, I don't care!"

"But I do!" shouted back the Doctor. He sighed, closing his eyes again for a moment, then he opened them with determination "goodbye, Rose."

And with that he turned back to the TARDIS. She ran after him, trying to stop him, but by the time she got to the TARDIS door, where the Doctor was pointing the sonic screwdriver to himself, he was already gone. He had left her, alone. Tears started streaming down her face as she fell down to her knees, not caring if anyone saw her crying. Nothing mattered in the slightest, not anymore.

The Doctor reappeared in Satellite 5, exactly the same room where the TARDIS had been before they had left, and stood there with closed eyes. He felt a sudden pain in his chest, his eyes started glowing, and tears started to appear from his beautiful eyes. He had done it, again. He had abandoned one of his companions, he had left her. To save her.

_You're lying_. Said a voice inside his head. He shook his head, trying to stop that voice, but it was right. Rose's safety was one reason, but not the only one. The truth was that he was coward and selfish, not worthy of Rose's affection. Not worthy.

_I can't bring her back… I've done the best for her_ he thought. _For her, or for you? _asked that voice again. He didn't even bother to answer to his own mind.

It was hard. Really hard to be on your own again. After so many travels he had grown accustomed to her presence, to her sleepy face in the mornings, her courage, her stubbornness. To Rose. His Rose. He had left her forever, and he very well knew she'd never forgive him.

Back on Earth, Rose was still on her knees, crying. He looked up to the sky, as though she could see TARDIS flying around it, and sobbed. That's how her mother found her, crying like a little inconsolable child who has lost his pet. She approached her, until she was right next to her, kneeling down and putting a hand on her shoulder.

"What happened, love?"

"He… left" she simply said. She closed her eyes and Jackie arrived just on time to catch her. She looked her, she seemed she was sleeping. She had fainted.

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED..._


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey there!_

_Thank you for your comments, I really appreciate them even if they're few! The second chapter is here, I hope you like it! And please, do let me know your thoughts :)_

* * *

**TOGETHER**

**CHAPTER 2**

Jackie helped Rose rise to her feet, and tried to take her home but Rose opened the door of the TARDIS and got in, trying everything she could to use it and make it go back to the Doctor. But everything she tried was useless. The space ship, always so alive and connected to her mind, was unresponsive and Rose was becoming more and more frustrated each time.

Jackie tried over the following days to convince her to let it go, but it wasn't so easy. In that precise moment, when Rose left the bar where she, Mickey and Rose were eating chips, Jackie realized what Rose actually felt for the Doctor. She had observed her daughter and she'd reckon Rose wasn't really aware of those feelings for him, but she was; she was her mother. It also was in that precise moment, when Rose was at her most vulnerable and when she sought so desperately the way of being able to go back to his Doctor, when Jackie realized how difficult it was going to be for Rose to keep on living without him. She wondered whether the Doctor's choice was now a good idea at all.

Jackie went to see her daughter but she didn't even bother to go home and take a look at her room; she knew where she'd be.

* * *

"Jack…" the Doctor's voice interrupted the Captain, but he interrupted the Doctor as well.

"You sent her home, didn't you?" asked Jack in an accusatory tone. The Doctor replied defensively, and Jack sighed. "You have to go and explain her."

"Explain her what? What do you mean?"

"Look, I understand what you did and why you did it, but she doesn't, and we both know Rose is capable of anything to try and find a way back" Jack approached the Doctor, who was looking down at the floor, and put a hand on his shoulder. The Doctor looked up at him "go and tell her. It will keep her safe."

He nodded and took out of his jacket the sonic screwdriver. He closed his eyes, pointing it to himself, and he disappeared.

* * *

When he opened his eyes, he was in the TARDIS, and a pair of brown eyes was looking at him with surprise.

"Doctor!" Rose shouted, still not believing it, and she threw herself into the Doctor's arms. He caught her, as he always did, and had to close his eyes for a moment, rejoicing at Rose's hug. He thought he'd never see her again.

"You're here! You came back for me!" Rose was over the moon, his face grimaced with pain, he didn't _want _to do it, but he had to.

"No Rose, I can't take you with me… and I know you deserve an explanation, that's why I'm here."

"Wait a minute… so… you're not going to take me with you? You're going to leave me here again?" Rose was hurt, of course she was hurt, but the Doctor tried to convince himself it was for her own good.

"Rose… my precious Rose…" the Doctor said with a crack in his voice, his fingers tracing Rose's factions "You know I've taken other companions before you, and I've seen them die… I couldn't take this anymore… I can't see you dying Rose, I can't"

"Oh, so since you don't want me to see me dying, to just dump me in Earth? Don't you understand you just can't do that?! You took me with you through space and time, saved me from thousands of aliens, and then you leave me? What's the purpose of this, Doctor?!" she was shouting and feeling angry, the Doctor could feel that anger. But underneath that anger there was something much more powerful, there was pain; suffering for thinking she wasn't good enough, for thinking she wasn't worthwhile. Oh, how wrong she was.

"Rose, I… you know who I am. You know what I am." Said the Doctor as she stood there, looking at him with a frown in her face "I've lived 900 years, I've had other companions beside you… and I've seen each one of them aging and dying… each and every one of them are dead, but I don't have that privilege. I regenerate, always in movement, always alive. I can't also see it with you, Rose. I can't."

She remained silent, observing the Doctor. She had seen that expression before; it was that sad expression the Doctor's countenance had when he talked about his own pain.

"So… not to see me dying you just… dump me on Earth… apart from you?" whispered she, understanding his feelings but not quite. He must've had something else on his mind to leave without her "you haven't thought that I will die sooner or later, regardless of you watching me or not?"

"I know, I just… didn't want you to die far from home."

"I AM home! Don't you understand? London is not my home anymore, this is! YOU ARE!" she shouted and started running. He had the time to see her tears on her cheeks, making them become read.

He run after her, he was lucky he was faster and with a few steps, before she could go out of the TARDIS, he was able to catch her by the arm, stopping her.

"There's one more reason. I… I am not what you think, Rose."

"What do you mean you're not what I think? I've been with you for ages now, I've…"

"No, I don't mean that, I mean… you think I'm brave and capable of doing anything, but… but I'm a coward Rose. I've lived 900 years and I'm not brave enough to… to…" he sighed, trying to find the adequate words. He sighed. "I've seen dying many people that were very dear to me. I'm old Rose, you may not see it but I am. And I don't want to suffer anymore. I don't want to live the few best years of my life with you, and then mourn you for all eternity, with that pain stuck in my chest like a dagger stuck in my heart. I'm afraid of what these feelings might do to me. I'm a coward Rose, and I'm frightened."

There was silence after those words. The Doctor was looking somewhere else, far from Rose's eyes, while she was looking at the Doctor with a blank expression in her face. She saw the tears fighting each other until one finally fell down his cheek. He closed his eyes, trying to hold the others back, but failing in the attempt.

"Doctor…" whispered Rose, one hand travelling to the Doctor's cheek, stroking it with her fingertips "just tell me something: what's the point on living 900 years if you don't allow yourself to live? What's the purpose of having a life if you don't let yourself to feel the most beautiful things in the world?"

He whispered her name but trailed off as soon as he felt her touch in his arm, his other hand touching his upper arm and then going down, finally finding his hand. She took it, like he used to do with her so often, and started caressing his fingers.

She looked him in the eyes; there was fear in them, a lot of fear. Vulnerability. He was vulnerable, he knew it, and that's why he was scared. 900 years of life had taught him, in the worst and most veracious way, what regret and pain was. And he didn't want to suffer anymore.

"Oh, Doctor…" she whispered with a soft voice, touching his cheek softly. He closed his eyes, feeling Rose's touch as though it was godly, and put his hand over hers. He didn't want to leave. He wanted to take her with him, to show her everything she still hadn't seen. When he opened his eyes again, Rose was still looking at them, brushing his tears out of his cheeks. "I know you're scared, we all are…"

"I've had 900 years of solitude" he whispered, closing his eyes with pain "I don't want to feel that emptiness again Rose, I don't want to."

"But…" Rose tried to say something, something that could convince the Doctor to take her with him again. But it was useless. The Doctor took away her hand off his cheek, and smiled sadly. He had to avoid her look, he knew she was starting to cry, the tears glowing in her eyes.

"Have a good life Rose. Have the best life you can and then, when you finally achieve happiness, I will be glad I gave you the chance to live".

Those were the final words of the Doctor. Before Rose could say a reply, he was gone.

* * *

_Woooo so the Doctor is gone again! What will happen next? The answer in the next chapter! :)_


	3. Chapter 3

_Hello!_

_Thank you for your comments, I really appreciate them! Here's the third chapter, you'll see it's the ending but there's still a little epilogue after this. I hope you like it! And please, do let me know your thoughts :)_

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Rose felt her heart ache, she was looking at the place were just seconds ago the Doctor had been standing, talking to her. She closed her eyes with pain, and let the tears run down her face.

However, when the first tear fell on the controls of the space ship, the TARDIS made an awfully big noise, followed by a series of explosions. Rose took a few steps back, and observed how the controls opened a piece she only saw opened once: when the last of the Slitheen looked into it and became an egg, to start a new life from scratch.

That was the heart of the TARDIS. It wasn't dead; it was still alive and connected to Rose's mind. It had instructions from the Doctor not to obey Rose's wishes to go back, but what the Doctor didn't know was that her desire of saving him was much more powerful than his order, weakened by the pain his decision had caused him. The heart of the TARDIS was open, and Rose closed her eyes, feeling the strength of the space ship surrounding her. It was frightening, but she didn't fear, it was her home, and the TARDIS recognized her as one of the occupants.

She thought of the Doctor, and immediately his face smiling appeared in her mind. Her lips curved in a soft smile.

"Take me to him" her voice was strong, renewed with the power that her feelings gave her. She was going to save him.

* * *

When the TARDIS materialized itself in front of his eyes, the Doctor couldn't believe it. The door opened itself and Rose appeared from the inside, looking at the Doctor with a soft smile from the threshold.

"Rose!" the Doctor took forward the few steps he had taken backwards because of the TARDIS appearance, but stood still in the middle of the room, looking at Rose "How could you… how did you do it?"

"The TARDIS is alive, you said it yourself" she answered, approaching the Doctor, who was standing still, looking at her like she was some sort of mirage "it got inside my head and it knew what I desired. Save you."

"Why Rose, why did you do it?" he took her from the shoulders, shaking her with desperation, because these were the most hazardous circumstances they've ever confronted together, and he was afraid. Not afraid, he was terrified.

"You left me there and now you're asking _me_ why? WHY _YOU_?!" asked her, the tears appearing in her eyes and flowing like a river "You saved me hundreds of times, I couldn't just let you die!" The Dalek that was right in front of him would shoot at any moment; it was already shouting "Exterminate!"…

"I CAN'T LET YOU DIE!" and with that she positioned herself in front of the Doctor with arms open. He tried to stop her, but within seconds the Dalek shot. She stood in front of him as a shield, protecting him, like he had done hundreds of times for her.

The light went through her in a matter of seconds, but she didn't disintegrate. Something inside her was different, something that made her powerful, much more powerful than the Daleks. The Dalek that had shot started falling apart, all the pieces falling to the floor, and the Doctor held out his arms just in time to catch Rose, who was falling down from the impact of the Dalek attack.

"Why Rose, why? Why?!" said him, while he helped her to kneel down.

"You don't understand, do you?" asked her, noticing his hand on her shoulder "This is not about the space ships, and the aliens, and the adventures. It's because of you. The mundane things with you. Travelling, dancing, joking, learning, even arguing. It's all because of you. You are the most incredible, intelligent, stupid creature I've ever known. I'd rather die right here and now, than live a long life without you."

Suddenly, a pair of glowing tears appeared in the Doctor's eyes, followed by many more which started streaming down his face. The Doctor, the good Doctor, was crying because of her.

"I wanted you to be safe, Rose. Your safety isn't with me; you have to go back…"

"That's something I will decide" she muffled, reaching out her arm to touch his cheek, brushing his tears "and I choose you. I will always choose you, my Doctor."

Then she took his leather jacket, pulling him back, and she kissed him. The moment their lips brushed a sudden shiver went through their bodies, as if they had waited for that to happen. Then the Doctor pulled her closer to him, one hand brushing her cheek, stroking it so slightly it seemed he thought it was china, the fingers entangled in her blonde hair. When they came apart she was smiling, a painful but sweet smile, the one reserved only for him. And then he understood.

"I'm sorry" he said, realization coming to him "I… I was just trying to protect you…"

"I know" said Rose, "and I know you will always try to protect me. But I'm also here for you. Don't try to push me away from you, because I will never let you go."

The Doctor smiled, helping her to get up, and without any further word they embraced each other as though they hadn't seen each other in years.

"There's a war going on, Rose" the Doctor said once they separated.

"I know" said she, taking his hand and entwining her fingers between his "I know the danger, but I take the risk."

"Why?"

"You so intelligent, smart and blind Doctor" said Rose before kissing him again. And he returned the kiss.

When they came apart they looked at the army of Daleks in front of them. They looked at each other and they smiled, holding their hands tightly. Yes, there was a war going on, and it was their duty to save as many people as possible. But they would do it as they knew it was best. Together.

* * *

_NEARLY FINISHED! Did you like it? Opinions, thoughts? Any changes you'd make?_

_This fic is almost done, but there's still space for a little epilogue! Have patience, it's coming! :)_


	4. Epilogue

_Hi there!_

_Finally I come here with the epilogue of this fic!_

_Thank you to everyone who has read and commented this, I'm very grateful for that. Here it is!_

* * *

**EPILOGUE**

"You never told me how the Tardis knew about your wish" the Doctor said while sitting in the captain's chair in the control room. She was standing in front of him, very close but not touching him yet.

"Oh, it simply read my mind and knew, there's not much more to say about it" Rose's response was evasive, but no one could compete with the Doctor's intelligence.

"But the TARDIS was in a state of coma, I told it to do so and it never has failed in doing what I had commanded… unless…"

"What?"

"Unless you felt desperate" said the Doctor looking at her with concern "the space ship was told to behave like it was dead, but the TARDIS recognizes you as one of the two people living inside it, and therefore is directly connected to your own feelings. It has the unconscious order to provide aid if the occupant needs it. Just as a friend does."

Rose kept silent, remembering the pain in her chest when the realization had entered her, knowing that the Doctor was dying and she couldn't do anything to save him.

"What happened, Rose?" the Doctor's voice was soft, and he took one of her arms, stroking it gently. Then Rose started to speak, her voice trembling as she told him her attempts to come back. Her words made the Doctor accept to himself that this decision could easily be one of the worst decisions he had made in his whole life.

"Then I said the words in my mind, and that was all it needed to bring me back to you" Rose's voice was normal once again, she had tears on her cheeks, tears that the Doctor wiped away with one of his fingers, leaving his hand there, still caressing her face.

"What words?"

She smiled, closing her eyes while she leaned down and kissed the Doctor's lips. And between soft, slow and gentle kisses, she pronounced the words.

"I love you".

* * *

_And that's it, thanks for everything! Please if you've read it, take a little more time to tell me how I could improve!_

_Thanks and see you around! :) _


End file.
